Goodbye, Hobbes
by The King of Emerald
Summary: Hobbes finds Calvin again. But how much has he missed?


**Calvin and Hobbes was always a welcome name in our household. But now that years have passed, I find myself reading those comics again. And I can only imagine what it would be like if Calvin found Hobbes, only for the stuffed tiger to see how much time had passed.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Calvin and Hobbes comics.**

XxXxX

"Honey! I'm taking Calvin to his grandparents! We'll be back later tonight!"

"Okay!" the man called out from the attic. As the two left, the blonde haired man could have sworn he heard his son ask why he spent so much time in the attic. He smiled at that, knowing it was to be expected. Truth be known, he was looking for a present for his son's sixth birthday.

Calvin Mitchell had grown up. Impossible to believe that only twenty-one years ago he had been a sugar-high kid that had the many aliases of Stupendous Man, Spaceman Spiff, and Tracy Bullet. He grew tall, and his face became more structured, similar to his own father's with the fact that he had to wear glasses now. But his hair had become more controlled and very fine, like his mother's. He even had the same sense of humor from her, while he had the same sense of character-building of his father.

Right now, the boy-no-more shifted from box to box, searching for something he had forgotten about since he was nine years old. His friend disappeared years ago, and now it was time to bring him back. Finally, he found a box entitled "Calvin: Elementary." He grinned, and reached in, and felt his fingers brush against everything in there until finally they found something fuzzy. He wrapped his hands around the stuffed tiger and pulled it out, smiling happily at it.

But after a moment, he realized that Hobbes wasn't moving. What could get him to come back? There were the Stupendous Man adventures, toboggan rides down the hill... but he was too young for the cape and there wasn't any snow. What did they always do together?

He went down the stairs and placed the ratty stuffed animal on the ground, positioning him just right before he left through the front door. He waited, only for a moment or two, then turned around, opened the door, and called out, "I'm home!"

Suddenly, he felt something hit his gut. It wasn't as powerful, nor did it hurt as much, and it only made him stumble a bit. But he recognized the force of a tiger pounce. After all, he got attacked day after day by the same tiger when he got home from school. He looked down to see the figure wrapped around his waist, then chuckled and said, "Hey, Hobbes. It's been a while."

Hobbes looked up, and his eyes went wide. He slowly backed up, squinting his eyes a bit. Then, a very tentative voice said, "Calvin? Is that really you?"

Calvin nodded. "Yeah, it's me, buddy." He ruffled the top of Hobbes' head. "I guess you can't intimidate me anymore."

Hobbes didn't care that Calvin was tall. He didn't care that he wasn't as wild, or that he would go on the same childish adventures, or that he would never again be able to play with him. All he cared was that Calvin was back. So, he ran up and hugged the adult, smiling and letting a tear run down his eye. "I missed you, ya little meatbag."

Calvin laughed. "And I you, furball." He picked up Hobbes. "I guess I have a lot to tell you."

The two went to the living room, and for the first time, Hobbes realized he was in an entirely different house. "Calvin, where are we?"

"This is my house", Calvin told the tiger. "I own this, along with my own car and other things we wished we had."

"Wow..." Hobbes said, looking to Calvin and smiling. "You cleaned up pretty well. I bet you have to fight off the babes with a stick now."

"I don't need to", Calvin said, grinning. "My wife does that for me."

"Your what?!" Hobbes said, shock and confusion apparent on his face. "You, out of all people, got married?!" He grinned evilly. "Well, you do realize you broke the rules of G.R.O.S.S., right?"

"Yeah. It was the best thing I ever did."

"Alright, so spill. Who is she?"

"Well, her name now is Suzie Mitchell. But I'm sure you remember her as-"

"Suzie Derkins?!" Hobbes began laughing. "I can't believe it! You married her! I just knew this was going to happen!" Then he stopped, as if something just occurred to him. "Mr. Bun owes me a quarter."

Calvin laughed. Hobbes was just so entertaining to watch, especially after all this time. But soon he noticed that Hobbes was looking at him sadly. "Hobbes? What's wrong?"

"You didn't bring me back to play with me, did you?" Hobbes asked, sniffing a bit. "I'm going back, aren't I?"

Calvin sighed. "Yeah, you're going back." Then he smiled his evil genius grin. "But, not until you're no longer needed."

"I... don't understand..." the tiger said.

"What usually comes after marriage?"

Hobbes thought for a moment, then suddenly it dawned on him. "You... have a kid of your own?"

"Turning six tomorrow." Calvin got up, and looked down at Hobbes. "He's a lot like me, Hobbes. And we live in a neighborhood with no other kids. Nobody at school likes him, and he's always going on zany adventures off on his own. I worry about him, constantly."

"And I'm guessing you want me to be there for him?" Hobbes asked.

"Right. But not just as a friend", Calvin told him. "I want you to protect him, like you did for me when I was six. Can you do this for me, buddy?"

Hobbes nodded. "Of course I would. But... you do know that once I get passed on, we'll never be able to talk to each other again..."

Calvin sighed. He knew this. Why else couldn't anyone else see what Hobbes was? Because he didn't want to give up Hobbes. It was the only reason why to others, he looked like a stuffed tiger. "Yeah, I know... but if it means that my son will be happy with my best friend, then I welcome it."

Hobbes smiled, although tears went down his eyes. He got up, one last time, and hugged the taller man. "I love you, Calvin."

"I love you too Hobbes. Goodbye."

And suddenly, Hobbes fell, back to his stuffed tiger form. Sighing, Calvin took the toy, and began to prepare.

XxXxX

Boy, was today rotten.

A child is supposed to be laughing when he turned six, right? Well, that wasn't the case in Calvin Mitchell, Jr. He was alone on his sixth birthday. No one at school liked him, he had no kids to hang with in his neighborhood, and his parents wouldn't let him go off on his own to other neighborhoods. Today sucked.

He entered his room, only to be surprised by the zooming of a orange, black, and white blur, knocking him off his feet. "OW!" he cried, hitting his butt. He looked up at who had tackled him and asked, "Who the heck are you?"

Hobbes grinned. "I'm your new best friend. Let's go play."


End file.
